Definition of Weather: Types, Elements, and Their Effects

Definition of weather – Weather is the condition of the air in the atmosphere that occurs at certain times and places and is also erratic and changing. However, sometimes there are still some people who don’t know about the meaning of weather and its types.

On this occasion, we will discuss more deeply about the meaning of weather and its types. So, read this article to the end, friend.

Definition of Weather

The term “weather” basically refers more to the temporary conditions of the atmosphere, where this layer of air then surrounds planet Earth, so usually when thinking about weather it is closely related to the state of the atmosphere in our own part of the world.

In the Big Indonesian Dictionary (KBBI) weather is the state of the air (temperature, humidity, sunlight, wind speed, etc.) at a certain place for a limited period of time.

In addition, the weather can dictate short periods of time up to several days. The weather conditions can be said to be a description of typical weather phenomena, such as a series of thunderstorms in summer, foggy months in autumn, or other weather conditions that are typical for a particular area and season.

Weather Shaping Elements

The weather itself does not just happen, but occurs because of several forming elements. Here are some weather-forming elements that you need to know.

1. Solar Radiation

Any object that has a temperature above absolute zero can emit solar radiation in the form of energy. Then, solar radiation can be said to be the only form of energy that can propagate in the vacuum of outer space. Solar radiation is formed from electric fields as well as magnetic fields. Therefore, this solar radiation can be regarded as electromagnetic waves.

The surface of the Earth itself only receives a very small amount of radiation emitted by the sun. In addition, the Earth also utilizes solar radiation as the main energy to carry out physical processes in the atmosphere.

2. Air Temperature

Air temperature as hot or cold state of an air. Meanwhile, measuring air temperature or a degree of heat is usually called a thermometer. This air temperature gauge can be expressed on the Celsius (C), Reamur (R) and Fahrenheit (F) scales. The tropics also have the highest air temperature on the earth’s surface, while the polar regions have the coldest temperatures.

3. Air Pressure

Air pressure is a force of gravity caused by air in a certain area. When measuring air pressure, a barometer will be used and this air pressure is usually measured in millibars.

4. Air Humidity

Air humidity is the amount of water vapor present in the air. The atmosphere has a very small amount of water vapor and air, which is about 2% of the total mass. Air humidity can occur due to the process of concentrating water vapor in the air which greatly affects the weather. In addition, the level of concentration of air humidity is usually expressed as absolute humidity, specific humidity or relative humidity.

5. Clouds

Clouds are a collection of masses of water which then gather on the surface of the Earth. This cloud observation is also carried out by paying attention to the cloud cover which is further divided into eight parts and this cover is also known as the octave. In addition, clouds can also be observed in the form of water droplets, air or ice crystals.

6. Rain

Rain can be said to be water that falls from the clouds to the surface of the Earth. The amount of rainfall can be measured manually or automatically using an ombrometer. This rainfall is also expressed in millimeters.

7. Wind

Wind is an air movement that occurs due to differences in temperature and pressure between one place and another. Wind movement also occurs in the horizontal direction. The wind that can be measured by this wind sensor is usually at an altitude of about 6-10 meters from the earth’s surface and is also commonly called a surface wind.

The naming of this wind is adjusted to the direction it comes and its speed, while the wind direction is expressed in degrees. Wind direction from the north is also expressed in 360 degrees, from the east 90 degrees, from the south 180 degrees, and from the west 270 degrees. Not only that, this wind speed is also expressed in km/hour, m/second, or in knots. Winds that have very low speeds are expressed in the direction of 0 degrees.

Weather Types

Here are some types of weather you need to know.

1. Hot Weather

The first type of weather is hot weather. In this weather, a person will feel hot and the environment becomes drier. This hot weather is caused by the heat of the sun, especially when there is a sun that is perpendicular above the earth, giving rise to a feeling of heat.

2. Sunny Weather

The second type of weather is sunny weather. This sunny weather can be interpreted as weather where the sunlight looks clear accompanied by fresh air. Therefore, when the weather is sunny, the feeling of heat is reduced.

3. Cool Weather

Cool weather is a type of weather that occurs in an area where the wind is blowing, the air temperature is low, and the air humidity is quite high.

4. Rainy Weather

This type of weather is arguably already a lot of people who know it. The rain itself occurs because of the water vapor contained in the air or in the clouds.

5. Windy Weather

The next type of weather is windy weather. As the name implies, this windy weather will produce winds that can move dense trees or even make a building collapse.

6. Cloudy Weather

The next type of cloudy weather is cloudy weather. This cloudy weather can occur when the sun’s rays don’t feel hot because they are covered by clouds. This cloudy weather is practically the same as sunny weather.

Weather Phenomena

Hydrometeor

A hydrometeor is a phenomenon other than a cloud which then arises due to the presence of the water element. Forms of hydrometeors include dew, fog, rain, and snow. The dew itself occurs due to the evaporation of water that occurs on the surface of the water. Then, the presence of this dew can also be observed on leaves and stalks of grass during the morning in summer, spring and autumn. Fog is also water droplets floating in the air in very small sizes.

Lithometeor

Lithometeor is a weather phenomenon that will arise because it is caused by the presence of small grains of objects that do not contain water. The general form of this lithometeor is smoke and dust.

Photometeor

Photometeors are optical phenomena related to refraction, reflection, decomposition, and interference from sunlight or moonlight. Photometeor formation occurs as long as light passes through the atmosphere. This photometeor is caused by differences in temperature and also the density of layers of air, or in the air where there are particles or water droplets, as well as grains or ice crystals.

When the weather is sunny or the weather is hot, photometeors usually occur in the form of mirages, mirats, or objects that seem to sway. In addition, photometeors can appear in clouds, hydrometeors or lithometeors. Photometeors in the atmosphere can also take the form of halos to the sun or moon, rainbows. arcs of mist, Bishop’s rings and formations caused by layered air.

electrometeor

Electrometeor is a weather phenomenon in the form of electricity related to the level of electric charge in the air. Generally, these electrometeors also appear in the form of lightning, thunderstorms, or auroras. Lightning and thunderstorms are formed by cumulonimbus clouds. This thunderstorm is also a phenomenon resulting from the combination of hydrometeor and electrometeor phenomena.

The impact caused by thunderstorms is usually in the form of strong winds and lightning. The formation of this lightning comes from the result of a very strong electric charge jumping repeatedly and accompanied by an increase in the amount of electric charge. After the electric charge in lightning reaches its maximum value, there will be heavy rain.

Extreme weather

An extreme weather event can then cause natural disasters, change the order of social life, also cause death for living things around it, especially humans. Extreme weather can be said as weather conditions that are different from normal conditions. These extreme weather conditions only occur in seconds, hours or even days. In addition, the maximum period of time for extreme weather to occur is 3 days. The type of extreme weather that occurs in an area can also vary.

The things that underlie the different types of extreme weather are differences in latitude, altitude, topography and atmospheric conditions. Meanwhile, the form of this extreme weather itself, can be in the form of strong winds, tornadoes, heavy rain, high sea waves, trunks of water, hail, also very hot temperatures, very cold temperatures, or at very low horizontal visibility. low.

The threshold for these extreme weather conditions may vary for each type of weather condition. The extreme threshold for winds is 25 knots or 45 km/hour.

Heavy rains also enter extreme conditions with rainfall ranging from 20–50 mm per hour in a day. The cold temperature itself is considered extreme if it is in the range of 3 degrees Celsius. Weather is also considered extreme when horizontal visibility is less than 1 km.

Meanwhile, sea waves are then considered extreme if their height has exceeded 2 meters. Visibility which was then very short due to heavy rains could also endanger land, sea and air transportation. Meanwhile, storm clouds that arise during heavy rains can be a distress signal from aircraft landing because they can cause turbulence.

Weather Effects

Agriculture

The influence of this weather can have an impact on agriculture. What’s more, when very high rainfall can cause flooding which makes agricultural land flooded. In addition, very hot weather can also make agricultural land dry or even die. In rainy or dry weather, farmers can also suffer losses.

Even so. humans also need certain weather conditions which can then benefit the agricultural activities that will be carried out. In addition, humans can also avoid certain weather that is detrimental to agricultural activities. Weather elements which are then important in agriculture are solar radiation, air temperature, soil temperature, rain, evaporation, wind, air humidity and evaporation.

Human Health

The next effect of the weather is on human health. That’s right, the changeable weather can make someone sick easily. Moreover, if the body is in a very weak state, it will be easier for the virus to enter.

Closing

Thus the discussion about the meaning of weather along with its types and influences. Hopefully all the discussion above is useful for you.